


Cryptics? In My Camp?

by Caramellody



Series: Cryptic Hunting For the Soul [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: cryptics and stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-06 14:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15196436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caramellody/pseuds/Caramellody
Summary: From being a Campbell camper in the old days to being a counselor himself, David devoted a lot of his time in making his and everyone else's time in camp Campbell the best it could be with what they have in store. His time as a counselor was (and still is)  a bumpy one, one with insults that stung and lessons that were learned, it wasn’t easy, but he and Gwen knew they can manage and they have.Of course, that’s what they thought before they were woken up in the middle of the night by the screams coming from Nikki and Neil.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been very much meaning to do a Camp Camp fic for a while, yet I never really figured out what to do exactly (lowkey I wanted to do a freaky Friday AU??? cause I'm always down for body/mind swap as if anyone down for it I might consider it???), eventually my mind came up with 'what if David and Gwen fought cryptics?' and eventually this was made.
> 
> A lot of the inspiration (or at least the whole monster hunting ordeal) for this AU comes from TAZ: Amnesty, mainly coming from me trying to catch up on it.
> 
> Anyway, this fic is definitely just a contained two-parter, I might consider expanding on the AU there's enough people who seem to enjoy this (or maybe for Halloween. spooky.)

The area of Sleepy Peak isn’t one of a surprise. The expected is always there all the time. It was always trees and mountains, trees and mountains and more trees and mountains. Nothing else was new, lake Lilac wasn’t any different either. There was the one specific area few people attempt to cross: spooky island. Rumors spread over the years about Campbell’s former resting home. _‘It was haunted’_ they’d say _‘monsters live in that area’_. It was old, abandoned, and dangerous. No one really knew what was there on the other side. Or at least very few knew the truth of the place.

 

Yet despite all that, lake Lilac was home of various summer camps in sleepy peak. The uptight Wood Scouts, the pristine Flower Scouts, and the rickety old Camp Campbell. The camp was more known as a camp where “one can do almost anything” (at least that’s what is said on the cover of all the pamphlets Campbell had sent out.).

 

The outdoors was what made up a vast majority of David’s life. From being a Campbell camper in the old days to being a counselor himself, he devoted a lot of his time in making his and everyone else's time in camp Campbell the best it could be with what they have in store. His time as a counselor was (and still is)  a bumpy one, one with insults that stung and lessons that were learned, it wasn’t easy, but he and Gwen knew they can manage and they have.

 

Of course, that’s what they thought before they were woken up in the middle of the night by the screams coming from Nikki and Neil.

 

Gwen groaned as she rose from her bed, “Oh god, what now?” she got up, dragging her bedsheets lazily across the cabin floor as the went to open the door, Gwen looked down at the two children. She sighed.

 

“What are you doing here?” she said, her eyes blinking slowly.

 

None of them said anything. Nikki was eyeing Neil, who in response seemed to have stiffened up. “I-I can’t tell them!” he exclaimed in a hushed tone. Nikki’s shoulders slumped down as she looked at Neil and back at Gwen. By this point, David had walked up to the edge of the door and stood beside Gwen.

 

“Kids, it’s the middle of the night.” he said, “You two should be asleep by now.”

 

Nikki glared at Neil, “If you’re not going to tell them, I will!” she looked back at the two counselors, “It’s Max, he’s...missing.”

 

David and Gwen both looked at each other before looking back at Nikki and Neil. Gwen spoke up, “You’re shitting me right?”

 

Nikki shook her head, “I wouldn’t joke about this! Neil mentioned that Max left his tent and never came back!”

 

Gwen looked at Neil, “Neil, is this true?” the boy nodded slowly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Max said he was leaving about a few hours ago.” the brown haired boy began to explain, “I didn’t bother to stay awake waiting for him so I just went to sleep. Next thing I know, I’m woken up by Nikki who just barged into the tent exclaiming how Max was missing.” He brushed his curly hair back, “Normally I’d just...brush it off. Max is always one to do his own thing, so normally I wouldn’t really question these things.” Neil’s shoulders slumped. “But it’s so late at night, usually he's back by now, just telling me to not worry about where he goes at night.”

 

The two counselors stayed in silence as Neil continued his story.

 

“We decided that he might’ve not gone far off, so we looked around by the tents and a little bit outside the camp itself, yet he was nowhere to be seen.” Neil took in a deep breath as he looked square in the eyes of both counselors. “We think he might’ve gone to Spooky island.”

 

David’s eyes widened as he stiffened up, “S-Spooky island?”

 

Gwen looked back at David, “You alright there David? You look paler than usual.”

 

As Gwen said this, David shook himself, blinked a few times and vigorously shook his head, “W-What?! Me?! N-Nothings wrong with me! Promise!”

 

Gwen looked at David with confusion, “you sure?”

 

David stood up straight, giving the camp Campbell salute as he did, “Perfectly fine Gwen! You go get changed, I’ll go get the boat ready.” and with that David scooted out from among the group and began sprinting his way towards the docks. Nikki and Neil continued to stare for a bit even after Gwen closed the door on them in order to change.

 

Nikki blinked, “Is..David alright?”

 

Neil yawned, “No clue, the guy looks like he’s seen a ghost.”

 

“A ghost?” Nikki said, eagerness seeping through her, “You think that Jasper kid has something to do with it?”

 

Neil shook his head, “Nope. You remember what Jasper said right? His body can’t leave Spooky island, and besides, David hasn't gotten a clue that he’s even dead!” He looked behind him in order to check on the door, “Let’s just...keep it that way.”

 

   Once Gwen had finally changed, the three of them all met up with David at the docks. He was already on the boat, oars prepped down on the ocean, ready to disembark when told to. Gwen got onto the boat sat down. Looking back, she held her hand as to stop Nikki and Neil from proceeding any further.

   "You two stay here alright?” she said. Looking at the two campers. Nikki groaned.

 

   “Aw man, why do we have to stay behind?” She crossed her arms and began to slightly kick the ground before pacing around the dock.

 

   “Spooky island is dangerous Nikki,” David spoke up, looking almost uncharacteristically serious, “I will not have any of you two kids stick around in harm's way.” Nikki stopped as she sighed as Neil looked back and forth between his friend and his counselors.

 

   “But David-!”

 

   David furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the two kids, “No ‘buts’ Neil. We’re not going to let you whether you like it or not and that's final.” He then relaxed his face as he sighed, “Look, we just don’t want you two to simply up and disappear as well, that’s why we’re so worried.” His voice was back to his relatively chipper self, only a bit quieter, “We’ll make sure to tell you two first thing in the morning how our expedition went, is that a fair deal?”

 

   Gwen raised an eyebrow, “Expedition? David, this is just a boat trip to the island nearby, not some grandiose adventure.” She turned around to see Nikki looking on the ground and grumbling something before looking back up at the two counselors...

 

“Fine!” She said in her usual tone of voice, “But be sure to tell the J-man I said hi!”

 

Gwen and David looked at each other, perplexed by Nikki’s statement. Gwen looked back, rubbing the back of her neck, “Uhh...J-man?”

 

As Nikki was about to clear up the confusion, Neil quickly placed his hand over Nikki's mouth, his eyes wide at the can of worms Nikki was going to unleash.”Uh! Don’t mind her!” He said laughing sheepishly, “Nikki’s  just talking about another animal friend of hers that's all!” He looked around, “It’s a...a Beaver! Whose name is...J-Justin! Isn’t that right Nikki?” He eyed Nikki in a desperate attempt to stop her in her tracks.

 

Nikki looked at Neil in what seemed to be disgust, “Really?”

 

David looked at the back and forth between the two campers, he turned to look at Gwen, she pointed at the island as she mouthed ‘let’s go!’ at David, her eyes clearly starting to droop. David looked back at the two campers before nervously waving at them, “O...Okay then! We’ll be on our way! Remember that you two better stay put, go back straight to your tents, got it?” Nikki looked back at David, she pushed Neil away as she waved back at the two counselors as they slowly got farther away.

 

“Alright then!” She exclaimed, “Good luck! And don't forget about J-”

 

Nikki couldn’t finish her sentence as she was suddenly pulled aside by Neil, who was shaking her back and forth, “Nikki! Remember, the three of us all promised we’d never mention Jasper to David, he still thinks he’s alive!”

 

Nikki freed herself from the boy’s grasp, putting her hands on her hips,”I don't know man, isn't that a little bit sad though?”

 

“Yes, Nikki.” He said without missing a beat, “Yes it is, but this is David we’re talking about, we have No clue how he’d react. For all we know, he’d probably spend weeks crying about how it’s his fault. And if that’s the case, I’m going to lose my _fucking_ mind.”

 

Nikki closed her eyes for a brief moment, she looked back up at Neil, “You bring up a good point.” she then tilted her head slightly as she gave a mischievous smirk, “But really, Justin _Beaver_? You think you’re funny aren't you?”

 

Neil’s face went red as he clenched his fists, “I wasn't trying to be funny! I was trying to shut _you_ up before _you_ said anything that you might regret!” Nikki turned around, looking back at Spooky island, “Sure, whatever you say buddy.” she then looked onwards to where the island was.

 

“But man, it’s a real bummer we can't just...follow them, you know,” she said, her voice was finally calm for the first time all night. Neil looked where Nikki was staring at, spooky island. The ocean, right in between being the one thing that stopped them from going through without a problem. Neil rubbed his left shoulder as he looked through the dock. He was worried for Max just as much as Nikki was, maybe even more. Looking around, Neil noticed a spare boat on the nearby shore. He looked back at Nikki, giving back a smirk.

 

“What’s stopping us though?”

 

Neil pointed to the boat, Nikki’s eyes glowed as she looked back at Neil, “You know...you bring a good point.” She began to run towards the boat, jumping her way there. “To the other boat!” she exclaimed. Neil quickly began to run towards her.

 

“Nikki! Not so loud, someone might hear you!”

 

* * *

 

David kept a steady pace rowing the boat en route to Spooky Island. The whole travel was silent as Gwen was busy looking ahead. After a while, Gwen looked down at David.

 

“Hey, David? Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we had brought something to, you know, defend ourselves?” she looked side to side, inspecting the island as it slowly got larger and larger. David looked at Gwen as he gave a light chuckle.

 

“Oh, it won't be that bad Gwen.” He said returning a smile. Gwen slumped back down to the boat, her eyes piercing through David's upbeat demeanor. She sighed as she placed her hands on her knees. After a moment of silence, she lifted her head to look at David once more.

 

“Oh really?” She asked, “Have you actually gone to Spooky island before?”

 

David stiffened at Gwen’s remark “Yes?” he said in a very hurt tone. “Once? Back when I was a...kid.” David brushed his hair, realizing Gwen’s point, “Okay, maybe we should’ve brought at least two flashlights, but It shouldn’t be that bad right?”

 

Gwen shook her head as she pointed towards the island, “I don't know David, but we are already here so you better pull that thing out now before we fall into something dangerous.”

 

When Gwen looked to David, she realized that he was already on land, the flashlight already flicked on, “one step ahead of you Gwen.”

 

Gwen got off the boat and found a way to anchor it down before making her way towards David. The two then began their hike down the dark forest. Looking down, the two of them noticed two pairs of footprints that began to diverge the deeper they went. Yet before they could investigate any further, a loud rustling was heard behind them. Gwen turned around, clenching her fists in preparation for what could happen.

 

“David, do you hear something?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. David nodded

 

“Yeah, it's coming from over there!” he said, David pointed to the nearby bush with his flashlight. Almost immediately the rustling stopped, yet the sound of running could be heard as the unknown figure began to run away into the darkness of the night.

 

Gwen sighed as she walked towards the bush. Noticing nothing was there she looked back at David and shook her head.”Nothing.” she began, “Maybe that was just another animal.” Gwen then began rubbing the sides of her head, “God, why did Max go here of all places?”

 

David scanned the area once more with his flashlight, his face giving a mix between disappointed and annoyed. “I don't know Gwen, but what I do know is that I am going to have to lecture the boy when we see him.”

 _‘god you treat that kid like he’s your fucking son’_ was what Gwen was going to say, but, she was ultimately cut off by a seemingly louder shake nearby. Gwen stiffened up as she pointed at the bush across from her, “There it is again! The shaking!” she exclaimed jumping up and down. As if by instinct David swerved around and aimed the flashlight at the moving bush. He slowly began to make his way towards the moving bush.

 

“Wait! David! Hold up!”

 

Gwen outstretched her arm in order to hold him back, only to just barely miss the back of his vest. David kept moving slowly before quickly pushing the bush away with his only free hand. David froze for a moment, stuttering very briefly at the sound that came out from the bushes.”

 

“What the _fuck_?!”

 

David looked ahead at where the voice originated from. “M-Max?”

 

Gwen walked up to David, looking at where David was aiming the light at. The young boy was wearing his usual blue hoodie, the hood was up and his arm was covering his face in an attempt to avoid being blinded by the light. “Gah! Put that thing down, you want to fucking blind me or something?”

 

David followed suit and lowered his flashlight a bit. In the limited light, David noticed his usual bright blue-green eyes as well as Max’s typical grumpy face. He looked at them in the same usual annoyed demeanor.

 

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” was all he said, his tone of voice clearly irritated by the situation. Gwen furrowed her brows as she pushed David aside and pointed at the ten-year-old boy.

 

“what are we doing here?” she began, her voice mimicking a similar agitation as Max’s was, “What are YOU doing here? We were looking for your sorry ass! Come on, kid, let’s go.”

 

Just as Gwen went out to reach for his hand, Max quickly jumped up and backed away,

 

“Woah Woah hold on! Something's off,” he said in exclamation. David looked at max.

 

“Off?”

 

Max nodded as he pointed behind him, “Yeah.” He said, “There’s some really weird shit back there!”

 

Gwen and David both looked at the direction where the boy was pointing “What is that place?” Gwen asked as the two of them saw a house, old and abandoned. The windows were broken and the door seemed like it could fall off its hinges at any moment. Gwen looked in confusion before she jumped slightly at the sound of David's voice.

 

“that's...Campbell’s old vacation home.” he looked down on the ground,  It’s been a while but,” He paused as he lifted his flashlight and moved it towards the area, “That..is the same place.”

 

Max walked up to David, still pointing to the abandoned house ahead. “Look, there’s something weird over there. I went for a walk and I saw something weird as fuck move in there.”

 

Gwen waved her arms before making a T-sign with them, “wait wait wait hold up. Timeout. Why did you go for a walk? Here of all places?!”

 

“Look, now’s not the time for the specifics!” Max snapped, he began to walk towards the direction of the home, “I’ll explain later, come on!” his walk very quickly turned into a run as he made his way to Campbell’s abandoned home.

 

David and Gwen looked at each other before looking back at the house, David’s eyes widened at max disappeared into the darkness of the woods, “Max! Wait! Hold up!” began to follow him.

 

Gwen raised her arms up as she started to run in an attempt to catch up to David, “Dude hold up! You’re literally the only light source in this damn place.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! It's not much so far since most of the plot will occur in part 2, but I hope you enjoyed reading it! I really do appreciate any kudos for this spur of the moment story I've got.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Gwen and David continue following Max deeper into the island, Nikki and Neil arrive on the island itself, there they meet an all too familiar face. Yet, how could that be possible?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this second part ended up being a total of 11 pages long. I...Honestly didn't think it would be that long yet here we are.

Nikki jumped off the boat putting her hands on her hips, “we’re here!” she said stretching her arms. She began to hop back and forth looking intensely at the forest in front of her. Neil began to slowly walk towards her, putting his hands on his knees.  
  
Breathing heavily, Neil turned to face Nikki, “you know Nikki? We should’ve probably brought some flashlights…It’s...really dark in here…” Nikki shrugged, looking back at Neil with her usual mood.  
  
“Oh, it’ll be alright. What’s the worst that could happen?”  
  
Almost as if by cue, a familiar voice rose up from the shrubs nearby.  
  
“Neil? Nikki?”  
  
Neil turned to face the sound that had arisen, “What the-” he started to run over to the bush and looked over it, “M-Max?! Is that you?”  
  
Nikki’s head turned to look at Neil, ‘Max?” she said, perplexed, she dashed her way to Neil as she looked where Neil was facing, “Max! It is you!” she rushed up to hug him before being swiftly held back by Max, who had raised his hand in front of her, preventing Nikki from getting any closer. Max tilted his head to the side, looking directly at Neil.  
  
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” He asked, “It’s like three in the fucking morning, wouldn’t David or Gwen notice you guys are gone?”  
  
Neil rubbed the back of his head, “That’s the thing, Max.” He looked up, “David and Gwen went looking for you.”  
  
Nikki nodded as she jumped up and down, clearly eager for adventure, “Gwen and David went to get you here so we tagged along!”  
  
Max’s eyes seemed aloof for a brief moment, “Gwen and David? Here?” he said. His voice, seemingly lacking any annoyance or hatred. Neil looked at Nikki, who was looking back at Neil. Neil’s eyes went back to looking at Max as he squinted.  
  
“Uh...yeah? You haven't seen them?”  
  
Max shook his head, “No?” he simply said “Never came across them unless...oh no.” a chill coursed through Max’s spine. His face was full of fear and seemed paler than usual. “Oh fuck!” he exclaimed before running back into the forest without another word. Neil and Nikki looked at Max as he disappeared between the trees. Neil held his arm out,  
  
“Max! Where are you going?!” he exclaimed, but Max was already gone. Neil looked at the forest intently. His hands were shaking, but he still clenched them tightly as he began to run into the forest. Nikki looked at Neil and began to follow behind him. 

 

* * *

  
_Max had snuck out to Spooky island for personal reasons, mostly for time alone. Of course, getting jumped by something was definitely not a part of the plan._ _  
_ _  
_ _Max was knocked out, his memory of the events still there, although they were fuzzy at the moment. Max couldn’t figure out what had happened to him. Luckily, he was currently tied up to a post near an abandoned home so he could make out that he was attacked. By what though? Max scanned the area for anything, anything that could give him an idea of what had happened to him._ _  
_ _  
_ _What he happened to find, however, was himself, looking back at him. It was dark and the flashlight he had with him died on the way, but Max knows himself more than anyone, the appearance was most definitely himself._ _  
_ _  
_ _“What the hell-?! What is this?” he said, struggling to free himself from the ropes. The figure in front of him shook its head._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Don’t even bother trying,” it said, its voice, sounding exactly like Max’s own voice. “I tied you up real good.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“...you’re a shapeshifter aren’t you.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _The other Max’s eyes looked at him, almost nodding, “I’m impressed. You seem to know quite a bit about monsters don’t you?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Max rolled his eyes, he stopped struggling as he looked back at the fake, “Believe me, you’re not the worst thing I’ve run into. Some monsters don’t need to look like actual monsters in order to be a piece of shit.”_ _  
_ _  
_ _The fake raised a brow in confusion, only to shake his head and brush it off. He was about to open his mouth when there was a sudden rattling noise coming from behind the fake. The shapeshifter turned around, its eyes quickly flashing yellow as he scanned the room. The rustling grew louder as the fake started to make its way closer and closer. Having been annoyed enough the fake lunged towards the bush._ _  
_ _  
_ _Nothing._ _  
_ _  
_ _Nothing was there._ _  
_ _Looking agitated at the sudden appearance of someone, something. The fake ignored Max, going after the figure that had caused the ruckus._ _  
_ _  
_ _Max was now left alone in the dark of night. He started to struggle once more, in an attempt to free himself. “Umm, hello?” he said, “You kinda left me here?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“He’s gone?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _“Huh?”_ _  
_ _  
_ _Max quickly faced the direction of where the new voice came from. And from the nearest tree fell down an all too familiar figure: yellow uniform, purple flannel, and the most stand-out shorts he’s ever seen. Max looked up at the figure._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Jasper?”_

 _  
_ _The ghost nodded, “It sure is Pal. It’s me! your neighborhood friend Jasper.”_ _  
_

_  
_ _Max’s rolled his eyes, “Now’s not the time. Help me untie this.”_ _  
_

_  
_ _Jasper rubbed his arm, “I-I’d love too...but, buddy, I’m a ghost. I can’t touch solid even if I wanted to._ _  
_

_  
_ _Max groaned “You’re no help. Look, I just need a way to break free from this without…”_ _  
_

_  
_ _Jasper looked at Max, “Without what?” Max shook his head,_ _  
_

_  
_ _“It’s nothing. Just give me a fucking hand, will ya?”_ _  
_

_  
_ _Jasper shrugged, making his way to Max, and observing the area surrounding him. Jasper paid close attention to the post that Max was tied up in, “You know dude, you’re lucky this house is old, you already did quite a number on this post. Maybe…” in Jasper's moment of realization, he made his way to Max, standing right in front of him. He grabbed onto the blue hoodie of the kid and began to tug as hard as he could. Almost with no avail. Looking back at Max he pointed to the post._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Look, the post is pretty badly damaged, if we both pull away, we might be able to actually snap it right off!” Max looked back, without a word, he nodded in understanding. Jasper pointed three fingers and slowly counted down._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Three…” Jasper placed both of his hands on Max’s shoulders once more, “Two.” Max moved slightly back, closing in on the post._ _  
_ _  
_ _“One!” Jasper exclaimed and with all of their might, the two pulled back with all their might, almost immediately snapping the post away from the ground and loosening the rope that had tied Max back. he looked up at Jasper, grabbed his hand and stood up, loosening the last of the rope on him, looking back he thanked Jasper and started to run the way opposite to where the fake had gone, leaving no room for Jasper to react. Looking back, jasper’s shoulders slumped._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Well, I’ve got nothing better to do,” he said, looking at the path where the fake had gone and began walking in that direction._ _  
_

 

* * *

  
“Hey! Jasper! Where the hell are you?”  
  
“Oh! There you are my pal.”  
  
Turning around, Jasper was suddenly in front of him. Max’s eyes narrowed in on the ghost, “Not now Jasper.” He said, the dark rings around his eyes showing predominantly as he glared at Jasper, “Listen after you helped me back there where I was tied up and ran off did you follow me?”  
  
Jasper shook his head, “No...I actually went to follow the fake to see where it had gone.”  
  
“Good, you have any idea where that fucker went?”  
  
Jasper shook his head once more, “No clue buddy.” he said, his voice sounding much more somber than before, “I lost it when I heard the sound of someone so I just up and ran off. When I felt that they were nearing me. I didn’t want to be seen by whoever it was.”  
  
Max paced around in circles, cursing under his breath, “Do you at least remember where that place was? We could follow the path from there.”  
  
Jasper snapped his fingers as his eyes glowed, “of course my bromine, I know this island from top to bottom, I think I can help you in that department.” He then tilted his head behind Max. A rustling sound came from behind, only to quickly reveal that it was just Nikki and Neil running behind Max. Neil was short of breath once more, his face growing relatively pale. Nikki jumped out of the bush, hopping on each leg, impatient and eager as usual.  
  
“Max…” Neil said, his voice, strained after chasing Max in the dark of night, “don't run on us like that man, we...we were worried sick.”  
  
Nikki’s eyes gleamed as she looked around the area before looking back up to Max, “What's going on? A murder? Mystery? Murder mystery? LET ME AT ‘EM!”  
  
Almost instinctively, Max stretched his arm out holding Nikki back from running too far from the small group they had created, “Well it's gonna be one if we don't find those two anytime soon.” he said. Once he noticed that Nikki had finally calmed down, he pulled out his flashlight and in once last attempted kept hitting on the flashlight repeatedly, each time with no avail. Annoyed at the object, Max threw the broken flashlight on the ground, “Goddammit why did this stupid thing die on me.”  
  
Nikki looked around, finally noticing Jasper, she walked back to where Neil was and tugged slightly at his shirt, “Oh shoot! Neil look who it is! It’s Jasper!” Neil nodded back, “I noticed.” the two of them smiled and waved at the ghost, to which the ghost waved back, giving them a warm smile. Jasper then pointed to the bush ahead of him and started to make his way closer to it, as he did, he gestured to the three kids to come over with his other hand.  
  
“You three just follow me got it?” He said as he started to slowly walk away, “It’s not too far off.” and with that, Jasper was gone between all the shrubbery.  
  
Max looked at both Nikki and Neil before walking ahead. The other two quick to react started to walk behind Max as they began to follow Jasper deep into the woods.  
  
After a while, Jasper stopped in the middle of a path. He pointed towards a bush that seemed to have been stepped on in multiple occasions. The footprints were clear but were also hard to distinguish due to the number of footprints being stepped over.  
  
“Here we are. This was the pathway I saw the fake go towards.” Jasper said, stepping aside to show the group of three kids the area where he last saw the shapeshifter. Neil squinted at the area, trying to distinguish something with the limited light the moon shone through. After a moment of examination, he looked back at Jasper, tilting his head slightly.  
  
“Hey, Jasper?” He asked.  
  
“Yes compadre?”  
  
“What did you mean by...fake?”  
  
“It’s not as complicated as it sounds Neil.” Max’s voice said, “Look, you know how beings like Jasper exist?”  
  
Nikki looked at Max, “Nineties kids? Or Ghosts?” Max looked back at Nikki, hand on the side of his head.  
  
“Ghosts, Nikki, I’m talking about ghosts.” He said, “Look, long story short, these so-called ‘cryptids’ that you hear in stories? They happen to be real. And they are fucking pissed. At what exactly? No clue. But what I do know is that one of them definitely attacked me when I was here.”  
  
Neil raised his hand and began to wave is as the other hand was pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyes were closed and he was seemingly deep in thought.  
  
“hold on Max, before you continue, I’ve got two questions. One: Why did you go to Spooky Island, to begin with?”  
  
Max stayed silent for a moment. He looked down, his eyes covered by his jet black hair.  
  
“I...I needed some alone time. Spooky island is the only place I can get that. Of course, that was before I got jumped by some weird black blob.”  
  
Neil looked at him, “Alright, my second question: How do you know so mu-”  
  
Nikki moved forward, cutting Neil off as she walked up to Max, “Wait? Black blob?” Max nodded, seemingly ignoring Neil’s cut-off question.  
  
“Yeah, turns out the thing that jumped me was a monster.” Max looked around, eying both his left and right, “A shapeshifter to be more specific.”  
  
Neil looked back in confusion “shapeshifter? Do you mean that thing tried to take your identity?”  
  
Max laughed, “oh no it totally took my identity 100%. There’s a fake me running around the forest probably looking for people to eat or kill or some shit. I don’t know.” Max shrugged nonchalantly, but Neil was still persistent. He turned to face Jasper.  
  
“And you say that there were people in that direction while you chased it?”  
  
Jasper nodded, “Yes. Why?”  
  
Neil’s hands quickly went onto his head, he looked at Max, his eyes full of fear at the realization he had made, “Maax, that could mean Gwen and David are in danger!”  
  
Max tilted his head slightly, “And why do you assume that?”  
  
Neil’s hands pressed down on his head harder, his eyes moving around before looking at Max once more, “T-Think about Max!” He exclaimed, “Gwen and David are the only people we know who are on the island right now and they’re looking for YOU. if they come across a being that looks, sounds and acts like you, they’re going to believe it actually is you!”  
  
Max sighed, rubbing the back of his head, “Well, shit.” He looked at the group of three, “Alright then, let’s go save David and Gwen.”  
  
As he started to walk towards the bush he looked back at Jasper, he was looking down on the ground, kicking some of the dirt. Finally taking into account his appearance, Max noticed the lack of a shadow the ghost had. Jasper looked up as Max quickly turned around to avoid any eye contact.  
  
“Look, if you don't want to see David you don’t have to co-”  
  
“No, I’m going.”  
  
Max slowly turned back, looking at Jasper once more, His fists were clenched and his stance was more upright, “I don’t know how he’ll react but...I’ve got to help save Davey from ending up like me.”  
  
Max smirked, “That’s the spirit buddy.” 

 

* * *

  
David, Gwen, and Max continued walking down the path nearing Campbell’s abandoned house. David was cautious to not shine the light directly on the boy as told and instead made sure to shine beneath the three of them in order to see where they were going. At one point, David looked up, his shoulders slumping after a few minutes of walking. “Max…” he began, “where are you taking us?” Shining the light around the area, he noticed that they had gone far off from the edge of the island, the only thing in sight being the partially covered moon and near rotting trees, “We’ve been walking slower and going deeper in these woods Max. I’m thinking that this might just be a ploy so you can stay out longer.”  
  
Yet Max didn’t turn around, he only kept walking forward as he waved one of his hands up in the air.”Hold on for a bit will ya? We’re almost there.” after a moment of silence Gwen started to pace faster, walking past David.  
  
“Seriously Max, let's just go back. I have no clue what time it is but it almost feels like it's almost four in the fucking morning and I need all the time I can get to sleep.” She said, her tone clearly irritated as she neared Max and reached out to grab his hand and pull him back. Max’s walk slowly became a dash as he felt his arm being grabbed, pulling her away, Max began to run away from the two counselors.  
  
Gwen was the first to react, her body, shaking in rage at Max. She raised her hand up high, “YOU GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!” she shouted as she began to chase Max deeper into the woods. David grabbed onto Gwen’s other arm with his free hand.  
  
“Gwen! You need to hold yourself together!” The Counselor exclaimed, Gwen eyed David, calming down slightly, and tugging away from David’s grasp.  
  
“I am calm David.”  
  
David slumped, looking back up at Gwen, “This...may be pure speculation but, I don’t think you are Gwen.” Before Gwen could even react, he began to power walk a bit past her, looking back he pointed towards the direction Max had gone, “Come on Gwen, He couldn’t have gone too far off.”  
  
Rolling her eyes, she began to follow David, “I don’t get paid enough for this.”  
  
When David and Gwen finally caught up with Max he was shaking, David wasn't sure exactly why he was shaking, all he could see was that the boy was just, shaking. He began to walk closer to him, shining the light on him, “Max?” He asked yet Max didn't respond. David tried again, “Max, come on let's go. We’re leaving now.” The closer he walked towards the boy the more he saw what was in front of him. Max was holding a rope, seemingly loosened from being tied up to something. He looked ahead to the old mailbox, which was now on the ground and torn off. The post didn't seem like it was pulled off naturally either, almost as if it was forcibly broken off.  
  
  
“Jesus Christ, I told you to stop shining that fucking light on me!” Max said as he turned around.  
  
The next few seconds went by like a flash of light.”  
  
When Max turned around, his eyes quickly flashed a color that wasn’t Max’s normal green. This caught David off guard as he lowered the flashlight instinctively in fear of what he thought he had seen for that brief moment. Max, or whatever the being who looked like Max, noticed this and lunged right at the counselor and despite the considerable size difference, it managed to throw David quite a distance, knocking him out. David collided with a nearby tree, head first, knocking the man out cold. His body limped down as the flashlight he was holding rolled out of his hand into the middle of the area in between ‘Max’ and Gwen.  
  
Gwen looked back at the unconscious David, terrified of what had just occurred before looking back at the flashlight. Without a word, she ran and threw herself to the ground in an attempt to get ahold of the flashlight.  
  
‘Max’ seemed to have caught on to her idea and ran just as fast to steal it from her, yet Gwen was quicker, grabbing tightly to the flashlight she flicked it on. But before she could even lift it off the ground, a sharp pain came down hard on her hand as ‘Max’ came upon Gwen and stepped on her hand hard. Gwen gritted her teeth in pain trying to free herself to no avail. ‘Max’ looked down on her with a look that was vastly more sadistic than usual as he gave a malicious smirk.  
  
“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” He said. His voice, more ominous than normal. Gwen looked up at Max and kept trying to free herself from his grasp.  
  
“What the hell Max?” he said, her voice, pained due to her hand still being pinned down underneath his feet, “What the fuck’s wrong with you?!”  
  
In a last-minute attempt to free herself, Gwen grabbed onto Max’s sweater pocket and pulled him down with her. Almost immediately Max went down to the ground, freeing Gwen from his grip. Gwen picked up the flashlight and ran back to where David was laying, rubbing her free hand on the way there. When she got there, she gave David multiple small pats on the face, “Hey. David. David, wake up.” She said with a distressed tone in her voice. Turning around she noticed Max getting back up. His hair, messier than usual. His eyes very briefly glowed yellow as he got up and prepared to lunge at Gwen. A voice suddenly cried out, causing the two of them to be caught off guard.  
  
“Back the fuck off you piece of shit!”  
  
Almost a second later, Max was on the ground, tackled by what seemed to be another Max. The two of them were struggling, attempting to pin the other down.  
  
“How did-!” One Max said, his voice, strained and irritated. The other Max Managed to successfully pin the other Max on the ground. Looking up, the Max that was pinned down grit his teeth, attempting to free itself. The Max that was pinning him down gave a smirk.  
  
“Let’s just say I had a bit of outside help.”  
  
Suddenly, Nikki, Neil, and Jasper all ran into the fray. The three of them immediately noticed the already unconscious David laying on the tree.  
  
“Oh no!” Nikki exclaimed, causing everyone to look in Nikki’s direction, “David’s dead!”  
  
Jasper’s face became paler than normal as his body seemed to flicker between solid and translucent. Neil walked up to David’s body as he placed two fingers under his chin. After a while, he turned back to look at Nikki.  
  
“He's not dead Nikki, he’s just unconscious.” Neil said, sighing, “At least he's just unconscious, that's better than death any day.” Neill looked at Jasper, giving a warm smile and kept looking at the ghost until he was calm once more. Gwen looked back at the three kids, Her face more annoyed than usual.  
  
“Nikki? Neil? What the hell are you guys doing here?”  
  
Nikki raised her arms in the air, “We didn't follow orders!”  
  
“Uh, YEAH, I noticed.” Gwen replied, slumping her shoulders for a brief moment before looking at Jasper, “Say, who’s the new kid?”  
  
Jasper waved at Gwen, “Oh, hello there, I’m Jasper!”  
  
Gwen pointed at herself and then pointed at David’s unconscious body, “Gwen. And that doofus over there is David.” Gwen kept looking back, seeing the fight between two Max’s going on behind her. “God, what the hell is going on?” She looked back at Jasper, “Are you a camper? I’ve never seen you around here.”  
  
Jasper shrugged, “I guess? It’s a long story.”  
  
Nikki jumped right through Jasper, the boy’s form passing through her as she did, “He’s a ghost!” Nikki exclaimed as she made ghost-like noises. “He died years ago back when David was a camper.”  
  
Gwen’s face looked like she had decided to throw away any and all logic out the window, “oh-okay.” she said in an abnormally calm voice. Neil looked at Gwen, disturbed by her reaction.  
  
“Hey, Gwen? You alright there.”  
  
Gwen nodded, “Oh, yeah, I sure am.” She pulled out a bottle of pills, poured some out and ate them, “I’m just, you know, throwing any and all logic out the window.” she had a pained look in her eyes as she rubbed her head, “this better be a fucking dream or I swear-”  
  
“Look! I totally get that you just discovered monsters and cryptids are real and all.” Max exclaimed from behind, everyone turned and looked at him, “But news flash: I’m only ten and I can't handle a goddamn shapeshifter all on my ow-”  
  
At that moment, the man who was pinned down began to change, and in the span of a few seconds, Max was thrown across the area. Max landed on the ground, managing to land in an action pose in front of Gwen and the others. Nikki gasped as her eyes glowed at the sight before her. That glee, however, died quickly as she looked at the figure, its properties changing from what was originally skin to a molasses-like substance. After a while, the substance began to take form as it became taller. When it was done, the figure of David was right in front of the group.  
  
Gwen did a double take, looking back at the currently unconscious David before looking at the one in front of her, “I..D-David?”  
  
“That’s not David!, it’s someone made to look like him,” Max said, looking back at the counselor. Gwen rolled her eyes.  
  
“I’m not an idiot, Max. I saw what happened before my own eyes, I know that’s a goddamn fake.” He kept looking towards the fake as it started to walk closer to them  
  
Max’s look on his face was very briefly desperate at the sight of the fake’s close approach “Gwen! The flashlight! Point it at the fake!” He exclaimed as his face went back to his usual annoyed look.  
  
Gwen nodded as she got ahold of the flashlight, her hands, trembling as she turned it on and aimed it at the fake David’s face, almost instantly the fake’s eyes glowed a bright yellow, different from David's normally green eyes. The fake screamed in agony as it covered its eyes and tried to back away with no avail. Gwen kept aiming the light at him as best as she could, her grip tightening every second the monster screamed.  
  
She Proceeded to aim right at the fake’s knees, slowly the composure of the fake’s skin began to return back to the black substance it was before, yet it wasn't melting. It was almost like looking at a silhouette, there was no face, no mouth, it was just black. Every time it neared the group, it left a black puddle behind it and as it was ready to lunge at them, it was knocked down to the ground. The figures form fell to the ground revealing Jasper, right behind it, his body was trembling and his fists were clenched. Looking back up at the group he stood back up straight and sighed in relief.  
  
“I...I’m...sorry?”  
  
Neil looked behind him before looking back at Jasper, “Did...Did you…?” Jasper nodded. Neil looked back at the ghost in awe.  
  
“Woah.”  
  
Gwen directed the light at the shapeshifter, its true form slowly disintegrating the longer Gwen put the light on it. Eventually, after a while, it melted down into a puddle. Spilling all over the ground.  
  
Jasper took a step back and looked down at the black puddle in disgust. “Gross.”  
  
Nikki’s eyes shined once more at the sight she had witnessed, “Rad.”  
  
Gwen blinked rapidly, shook her head and looked back at the puddle.  
  
“What...what the fuck just happened?”  
  
There was no response from anyone. Max was especially quiet as he lowered his head deeper into his sweater. Jasper rubbed his shoulder, almost ashamed of himself.  
  
“Look, I think...I think you guys should go.”  
  
Gwen looked back at Jasper, “You guys? You need to come with as well.”  
  
Jasper smiled as he shook his head, “No can do miss. I’m cursed to roam Spooky island for a long time. Besides, I don’t want to scare Davey if he wakes up. Doesn’t make for a ‘warm welcome’, if you catch my drift.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“Look, Gwen.” Max said, finally breaking the silence, “He’s right. Let’s just. Take David back before things get worse.”  
  
Gwen was about to protest, but she realized that she had no clue what this whole monster deal was, to begin with. She nodded, “Very well. Nikki, light the way.” She handed the flashlight to Nikki who proceeded to flick the light on and off. Gwen went to David and picked him up, and carried him bridal style down the path. Neil was about to follow suit when he was cut off by Max.  
  
“Hey, Neil?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Do you have an extra vial with you?” 

 

* * *

 

Jasper watched as one of the three boats made its way back to camp Campbell. It was easily one of the most eventful nights he’s had since he first met Max, Nikki, and Neil.  
  
He then remembered Davey, or David as he’s being called as now. To this day he’s felt the guilt of abandoning him. He wished he would have mustered up the courage to tell them to stay, but he knew that they wouldn’t be able to take it without falling asleep for the night. He sighed, thinking that it must've been the same way Davey left with Campbell, having no clue that Jasper was gone.  
  
He needed to apologize to David. He needed to do it up front.

 

But maybe, it just isn’t his time yet.  
  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be a one-shot. But, I realized that the impact of the fake wouldn't be as strong had it been a one-shot, which was why I ultimately decided to split it into two parts.
> 
> As for the ending, I kind of intended it to leave it open-ended like that. I definitely have planned a few more one-shots based on this au (which was definitely why I made sure David was unconscious when Jasper arrived), which I don't plan on writing anytime soon (maybe for October? maybe once a month? I don't have a set plan especially since I've been working on animatics and another CC-related project)
> 
> I want to thank everyone who gave kudos and commented and subscribed/bookmarked this silly little short story. I've always been one to try and make things long and detailed so writing a short story was a bit tough without making it go for too long so I do apologize for any potential pacing issues here and there as a result of that.


End file.
